Tom Ferry

Hello all,

"Tom Ferry"

We talk often about having proper systems in place to consistently generate leads. Day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year we need to be doing the activities that are required to build our businesses and feed our children (probably Lisa and I's problem more then yours). All agents are a bit different and all systems are a bit different. Usually agents use a hybrid of several different things they have seen over time and create their own system. The two top trainers in our industry in my opinion are Brian Buffini and Tom Ferry. Ferry is a little more internet based with referral systems built in, Buffini as we know is all referral. When you get an opportunity to see them live and it does not cost anything I believe you should not pass it up, you will come away with something that will help you with your business. All that being said Mr. Ferry will be in Bethesda on 2/5 and Tyson's Corner on 2/6 and it is free! Below is a link where you can sign up. 

  

 http://www.yourcoach.com/about-events.cfm

                                

I will be going to the Bethesda seminar, I will be leaving the Germantown office around 8 and can some people with me. Please let me know if you would like to join me? If we get a big group we will need more drivers :)

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next." 

 

~ Abraham Lincoln

 

TEACH VALUES 101!

 

What do children and government have in common? That depends on which classroom you visit. If you have children and are actively involved in their lives, you are likely to encounter a classroom filled with intelligent, interested, involved and respectful children.

 

Unfortunately, many teachers today will tell you that's not what they are seeing. In some 1st & 2nd grade settings, children fall asleep because they spent the night in the family car while mom or dad sold drugs. Others are antagonistic and disrespectful, traits also learned from other family members. Still others are raised in a "no rules" family, where parents simply abdicate their parental responsibilities.

 

Many parents still take their responsibilities seriously. In fact, there appears to be a resurgence of young parents who teach their children the values of honesty, integrity, and service to others. It's about time. If you're one of them, I applaud your commitment to making the world a better place.

 

There has also been a dearth of honesty, respect and morality over the past 30 years or so. Children brought up during that time often experienced the negative effects of a no rules society. Today those same individuals are beginning to lead companies and be elected to office, yet we are surprised that company CEO's and elected officials could ever lie and mislead as they have been exposed to do recently.

 

As the children of today's classrooms are disposed to believe and behave, so will they as the adults of tomorrow's generation. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, you can make a difference for the next generation of leaders. Take time to encourage, nurture, and teach the children in your family. Sometimes, a single comment or gesture can give a child the impetus to become great.

Rick Thompson

Hello all,

"Rick Thompson"

I have written this coffee before, about 40 agents ago... however it is something I feel strong about so I wanted to write it again.

It was early 2006, I have had my license for 2 years at this point and Lisa for 1. Our business was starting to do well but still in it's infancy. I was sitting on floor duty one Sunday morning in the Germantown L&F office when a gentleman walked in. 

Joe - "Hello sir, may I help you?"

Response- "Hello my name is Rick Thompson"

In my mind- Holy crap Rick Thompson just walked in.

Joe - "Good to meet you, may I get you a cup of coffee or prepare a conference room for you?"

Rick- "No Sir, I have an appointment down the road in about an hour so I thought I stop in and visit."

Left side of my mind- Holy crap Rick Thompson just walked in and he has an hour to kill.

Right side of my mind- Don't say anything stupid, stupid.    

So Rick sat down in the lobby and we just started talking about Real Estate. Rick did not know me from Adam, I was just a newbie sitting on floor duty. Here is a 25M+ producer who I am sure if he put his mind to it could find better things to do with an hour then spend it with the kid on floor duty in another office. Rick was completely open with me about his business, marketing, thoughts on where the market was heading... I scribbled down every note I could. We started using his news letter after, some other techniques and we stopped doing some things that we were doing because I was told "that's dumb"  and he was right. After Rick left I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. This was not a life changing moment but it was a big "ah ha" moment for me. Many of the agents in our offices were secretive, protective and flat out paranoid, there was no sharing. From the time I went into management then on to being a Broker/Owner the concept of sharing and teaching within the offices has been very important to me. Nothing makes me happier then seeing one agent helping another out, a veteran agent helping a newer one. This business is difficult enough on it's own, having friends in the office to help and teach you is necessary. I will never stop learning or needing help, I am proud to call Rick Thompson my friend.  

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"We're not out to change the world, just the way you talk to it." ~ from a Vonage television commercial "The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate."

 

Joseph Priestly

 

TALK IS CHEAP! 

 

How ironic that today’s “inspiration” comes from a marketing campaign for a communications company. It’s touted that technology saves you time and helps you to communicate better. But isn’t it more apparent that technology now leaves us with so little time that we barely have occasion to properly interact with others? 

 

Anything that “saves time” is simply making more time that you can then devote to some other pursuit. Dishwashers and clothes dryers were supposed to be modern time- and effort-reducing marvels, but did people just sit around and relax after the cleaning was done? No, because all the “extra time” created by technology has only served to increase the hectic pace of our lives, allowing us to do more and more in less and less time. 

 

What about cell phones and email? Promoted as easy and inexpensive ways to communicate, they have ultimately diminished the personal aspect of communication. Ever gotten a phone call from someone who was killing time in line at the grocery store, or even worse, in traffic? Critical for emergencies and conducting business, cell phones otherwise give us an excuse for quick calls on the run, before the battery dies or the signal drops out (or another calls beeps in). 

 

Email is another beast altogether, having reduced our language skills to nothing more than “emoticons” and run-on sentences without capitalization. Email has replaced the answering machine as the new way to ignore communication. The sender feels good because at least they made an effort to get in touch, but the recipient is in the privileged position of responding whenever they wish. 

 

Ideally, we would all be able to sit down at home with undivided attention and give someone an hour of quality time on the phone. Or perhaps sit down with pen and paper and actually handwrite a personal letter to a friend or relative who lives at some distance. But really, who has the time?

Free Company Websites

Hello all,

"Free Company Websites"

As most of you know Remax changed platforms for the company website on December 1st. There have been a few hick ups with it but we are figuring it out. The one really good thing that came about was the upgrade in your free company websites. I would say it is as you good or better then anything you are paying $50 or so a month for and it's free! There are 3 ways you can set this up, do it yourself, learn how to in Ella's Leadstreet 101 & 201 classes or you can schedule a one on one with Ella. If you would like to meet with Ella and have her set up your website you need to schedule a time to meet with her in Potomac. She is available in the mornings to do this and the appointments will only be in Potomac. This is available for all solo agents, partners and Team Leaders. 

Sales meeting today, 11:30-1:00 at That's Amore in Rockville.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these." 

 

~ George Washington Carver 

STEP UP! 

 

At a fundraising dinner for a school serving learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students stood up to speak. He began by saying, “I believe that when a child like my Shay comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself.” He went on to tell the following story. 

 

Shay and his dad were walking past a park where some other boys were playing a game of baseball. Shay excitedly asked, “Do you think they’ll let me play?” Reluctantly, but hopefully, Shay’s father approached the boys. The captain looked at the others for some guidance, but finding none, said, “We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning, but I guess he can play. We’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth.” 

 

Still down in the ninth, Shay put on a glove and headed to the outfield. No hits came to him, but he was ecstatic. Then “Shay’s team” came to bat, scored, and got the winning run on base. Now Shay was next at bat. 

 

Shay’s obvious inexperience inspired the pitcher to move closer and lob the ball in softly enough for Shay to try to make contact. He missed the first toss, but the pitcher moved in even more before his next toss, which Shay ground balled right back to him. 

 

The pitcher picked up the grounder and threw the ball in a high arc toward right field, over the first baseman. Now the crowd started yelling and cheering for Shay to run, run, run to first base! Understanding his pitcher’s intentions, the right fielder threw the ball high over the third baseman’s head, and Shay made it to second while the winning runs headed home. 

 

The opposing shortstop directed Shay to third, while the crowd and all the players on the field went nuts. You might guess that Shay eventually made it around to home base, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam. 

 

“That day,” the father finished, “the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.” A lovely illustration of the virtue of compassion, and how we all have myriad opportunities to make a huge difference in the lives of those around us. Pay it forward

2013

Hello all,

"2013"

I can't tell you how excited I am about 2013! In future Coffees I will be talking more about the 2012 numbers and what we can be expecting for the new year. For many of us the last 5-6 years have been a struggle, we have endured setbacks and it has been difficult to know where the market was going. All that is changing and it looks like housing will be leading us out of these difficult economic times. There is no better time to get focused and invest in yourself and your business. Let's get things started off with the sales meeting this month, we will be talking about numbers, goals, office calendars training calendars and giving out production awards for 2012!

Sales Meeting- January 14th, "That's Amore" in Rockville 11:30-1:00. 

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up." 

 

~ Tom Lehrer 

 

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE! 

 

Much has already been written here about the modern notion of doing more and more in less and less time. This is somehow supposed to improve our lives, when we often simply end up fragmented and shell-shocked. 

 

Hand-in-hand with the idea of doing more is communicating more. But because of email, cell phones and the like, we are expected to communicate more in less time, and in less space, and ultimately, in less words. Cell phone "texting" is surely the beginning of the end of written language as we know and understand it. 

 

It's easy to lose sight of the fact that "communication" is not so much about the number of things we say, but how much is actually understood. Think back on instructors and speakers from whom you've enjoyed learning. There is probably at least one thing they all had in common: they spoke slowly, deliberately, and with focus. 

 

Of course, successfully communicating a single thought can actually be quite a challenge. Often, it's just easier to spit out whatever comes into our heads and quickly hit the "send" button before we have to put any more thought into it. Oscar Wilde once slyly wrote to a friend, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have the time." Think about it! 

 

Like trying to write a haiku verse, it can be difficult to distill our thoughts and ideas into a few carefully selected words that truly convey our meaning. But once we abandon such an effort, our communication just becomes so much "static." Be warned, there's a scientific definition coming: "Signal-to-noise ratio" - the power ratio between a signal (meaningful information) and the background noise. Ideally, our signals stand way out from our noise! 

 

So the next time you are preparing to write or speak about a topic, take the time to choose your words carefully and judiciously, and deliver them in a deliberate manner. Remember that, regardless of what you are conveying, people perceive speakers who talk more slowly as actually being more knowledgeable than those who speak more quickly. And on that note, this column has gone on long enough!

Shut Down Time

Hello all,

"Shut Down Time"

For anyone new to the company this is my semi annual shut down email. I believe there are two times a year we need to step back a bit and take a break. July when everyone heads out on vacations and now through the end of the year. The holidays are a special time of year and need to be spent with family and friends. We never stop working because we would stop making money, in fact the office has been jumping the last couple of weeks. This will be my last coffee until the beginning of the year, thank you all for a great 2012 and let's get pumped for an even better 2013!

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"A penny saved is a penny earned." 
- Ben Franklin

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?

Waiting for your ship to come in? Think you need to win the lottery to become a millionaire? Waiting for your inheritance to come through? Dream on - but don't hold your breath. The truth is that "steady as she goes" is the watchword for accumulating real wealth. In baseball terms, the method would be to hit plenty of "singles" and "doubles" and forget about the "home runs."

Consider this method for becoming a millionaire: At age 25, begin setting aside just $100 each month. Invest the money at 12% - yes that is do-able! At age 65, you would have accumulated $1,176,477. In other words, if you never increased the $100 per month, regardless of all the raises and increases in income you experienced over your lifetime, you would have over $1,000,000 in your investment account.

Now let's say you received a very modest $1,000 per year increase in pay over your 40 year working life. By putting aside an additional $250 each year (just 25% of your yearly raise), an additional $191,772 would be added to your million-plus nest egg.

Better yet, here's the easiest method. Beginning at age 20, put $2,000 per year into an IRA for just three years. Never add another nickel to the account. At age 65, the account would be worth $1,153,180.

What if you're already 45 years old (the average age at which Americans begin saving)? You would need to put aside $1,100 each month for 20 years at 12% - giving you $1,187,106 at age 65.

Financial security requires patience, persistence, and self-discipline (sort of like real-life). Spend less than you earn, and put the rest to work for you. It's a simple formula that few ever attempt, yet it yields unfailing results!

Peak Producers Training

Hello all,

"Peak Producers Training"

We have been very delighted with the turn out at the fall training series! I believe this is a great lead into the Peak Producers training that will start in January. If you have been to all of the fall series and qualify for the Buffini training please get with your manager about how to sign up. We will be getting things set on the Buffini website for everyone to sign up this week but I wanted get the dates out to everyone so they can prepare. The training's will be held in Aspen Hill from 9:30-11:30 starting on January 7th. The first week the training's are every day and after that it will be every Wednesday from 9:30-11:30 ending on March 20th. Lunch will not be provided the first week however on the subsequent weeks it will be provided. I will be cooking the lunches and facilitating the training's.

I had a great time on Saturday night, it was wonderful to see everyone together. A very special thank you to Counselors and Hutton & Patt for sponsoring the event!  

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Repentance is another name for aspiration."

~ Henry Ward Beecher

THE ART OF APOLOGY!

“To forgive is divine.” That’s wonderful for the one who forgives, but what about the one who is apologizing? How do you say you’re sorry without making things worse? What’s the best way to make reparation and regain your integrity?

None of us are saints. For any number of reasons, we’ve committed any variety of offenses. Maybe we did or said something unkind, or made a mistake that cost someone time or money. The question isn’t about making mistakes, because we all do that. The question is how to apologize after the fact. It has become a lost art.

First and foremost in regard to saying “I’m sorry” is to do it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more it sounds like “I’m sorry . . . I got caught.” Next comes the explanation of what you did wrong and why it happened. Just be careful not to put more emphasis on the “why” than the “what,” because apologizing is not the same as justifying.

You don’t necessarily have to go whole hog, either. “I regret what happened” sounds a little weak, but “Everything was my fault” can be downright dangerous! Hopefully there is a middle ground where you can simply express how badly you feel about what you did or said.

Now that you’ve shown your repentance, your “victim” can relax, you can relax, and now you can take the opportunity to do something especially nice for the wronged party. Just be sure to say you’re sorry and THEN do something nice – otherwise, you might just arouse suspicion! Oh, and don’t forget – don’t make the same mistake twice!

2013 Commission Plan

Hello all,

"2013 Commission Plan"

It is that time of year that we offer an opportunity to sit down with you to discuss your commission options for 2013. This is also a great time to have a one on one with myself, Mark or your manager to talk about your current business plan and to get some thoughts on how to be better next year. In order to have the opportunity to change plans for next year you need to sit down with Mark or myself, the cut off date for this is 12/21. I hope everyone had a great time over Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to the holiday party on Saturday!

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY: 

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." 
- William Shakespeare

GOBBLE! GOBBLE! 

Remember when you were a teenager leaving the house on a date? Your parents' last words as you went out the door were, "We'll leave the light on for you". Think about that. So what if they did or didn't leave the light on? Their words were really more of a verbal hug. They cared about you - wanted you to know it - and applied the hug with kind words.

This Thanksgiving, why not take the time to "leave the light on" for someone who may not get many hugs? There's still time, and it's easy.

First, learn who needs hugs. Check with your local fire, police, or sheriff's department. Ask whether they know of three or four families or individuals who could use a hug. Ask also whether they would consider delivering your hugs at the appropriate time. Two groups stand out as needy - the elderly and families with small children. Of course, we're talking about individuals who are experiencing difficult circumstances in their lives, be they physical or financial.

Next, consider what type of hugs you have to offer. Perhaps you might prepare three or four Thanksgiving turkeys with all the trimmings. Live in the country where people heat their homes with a wood stove? Deliver firewood. Live in a cold climate? Add some warm socks or a sweater to your dinner box. It's really not that difficult to come up with ideas that would make a difference to your chosen recipients. If you aren't able to provide "things," consider visiting with some nursing home residents. Brighten their day by listening for a while.

It goes without saying that our country is truly blessed. Although practically invisible to most of us, however, there are some individuals who are being challenged. They need a hug, and we can brighten their lives by way of simple gestures. Make a family project out of it - involve your kids. Do it anonymously. Afterwards, when you get home, we'll leave the light on for you!